Would You Spend $400 on a Playstation 4?

Dave Thier
, ContributorI write about video games and technology.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Another rumor about the Playstation 4 is making the rounds on the internet today, except this one has nothing to do with hardware

Money (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

or functionality. Japanese newspaper Asahi News suspects that this new console will retail for 40,000 yen, or $427, likely rounded down to $400 USD.

We have to remember that Sony has not yet confirmed the existence of the PS4, and any rumors should be taken with heaping handfuls of salt. Kotaku suspects this one could be entirely made up. But this reminds us how vital price is going to be in the early days of this new console. We have a few different audiences here: core fans who will buy the console no matter what, hardcore gamers who will weigh their options on which new platforms to buy, and people who play some games and could be persuaded to pick up a console if its exciting enough. For the latter two, price can be a make or break factor.

The $600 tag is often cited as one of the biggest reasons for the PS3’s slow start, and the $250/$300 with memory tag on the Vita isn’t doing the flailing little handheld any favors. It’s typically assumed that hardware manufacturers lose money on every console sold, so the price becomes questions of how much money the manufacturer is prepared to lose, how much money it thinks customers will reasonably pay for it, and how many games those particular customers are likely to buy. It’s a supply and demand chart, just a weird one.

$400 is neither very expensive nor very cheap. It’s the same price as an iPad 2 and cheaper than a current-gen model. I think that people are more primed to spend money on electronics than they were in 2006. This could give people on the fence a more enticing entry point. Combine that with the fact that this is likely being built with off-the-shelf parts rather than obsessive boutique hardware, and it might even be worth it from the company’s perspective.

I’m inclined to think that Sony could get some good traction with this price point, especially since it puts it in competition with the Wii U. It’s all academic for a two more weeks, though. How much would you spend on a Playstation 4?